i think you can be successful if you are willing to do what you alluded to, which is spend time in person in your chosen market. 

If a property goes into foreclosure on a second, as Ken said you will either be buying it subject to the first mortgage - meaning it's your mortgage now - or the first has to be satisfied to take possession of the property - or the owner of the first is going to be there bidding what they are owed, so you would need to outbid them to get the property and then you are the person paying off the first mortgage. 

If you want to think about it as a math problem, it’s all about where you put your time to maximize returns while also factoring in what you enjoy doing.Picking the MarketI’m the kind of person who gets analysis paralysis.

You can find something in Durham and parts of Raleigh, specifically zips 27610, 27603, and parts of 27604 that would meet your criteria, however generally speaking most of the inventory that would fit what you are looking for in Raleigh or Durham would likely be in neighborhoods that I personally wouldn't want to invest in, C- to D type neighborhoods.

Will you potentially be more at peace if you sell and buy an investment property that you have never lived in personally?

I have about 100k in assets both personal and business I could sell, but part of me thinks that’s extreme and I’ll sell “myself” along the way with all my stuff.  

Personally, my favorite way of sourcing deals is building relationships with brokers and nurturing those relationships by checking in consistently.

Quote from @John Fleming: I don't have any personal recommendations, but something below may help you in the search.Start by going to www.narpm.org to search their directory of managers.

Quite the opposite - I invest my personal money as just one more member, in each investment we end up doing as a club. 

I am here to learn more about my own personal investments as well as seeking out learning opportunities from like-minded individuals.